Posts in US
This shutdown is affecting the U.S., and us

Tomorrow marks the second week since the wheels of the United States government ceased spinning—congresspeople are mostly dug into their respective partisan trenches as Democrats unflinchingly push for extension of health insurance tax credits and a reversal to Medicaid cuts, while Republicans refuse to grant any leeway to the minority party. It is fairly well known that government shutdowns roll a large amount of federal workers into unpaid leaves (roughly 40%), while the remainder continues work without pay, but there are a number of other key details pertaining to this shutdown in particular that should serve as flashing warning lights across the country.

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Most Impactful SCOTUS Decisions You Missed

No summer at the Supreme Court is ever uneventful, but the Supreme Court’s summer 2025 term appears to be one of the busiest and most significant in recent history. Handing down precedent-setting decisions about presidential powers, religious freedom, and ICE activities, the Supreme Court’s rulings this summer are sure to change the political landscape for decades to come.

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Disengaging is No Longer an Option

Swiping right can become a bad habit. And I’m not talking about dating apps.

Every morning, I wake up to an inbox flooded with emails from The New York Times, The Washington Post and other outlets. Up until a few months ago, I would open each one, skim interesting headlines and their descriptions, and then fully read through the ones that had compelling stories. Yet since the beginning of this year, I have struggled to make it past the first headline — I just swipe right on the email and send it to my trash.

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Rep. Laura Gillen’s Journey from the Hilltop to the Hill

When Laura Gillen first stepped onto Georgetown University’s campus as a transfer student over 35 years ago, she had no idea that the very streets of Washington, D.C., would one day lead her back as a freshman congresswoman. After a decisive victory in the November 2024 election, she now represents New York’s 4th Congressional District in the 119th Congress, carrying with her the lessons instilled during her time on the Hilltop.

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We Are Too Naive For Donald Trump

Trump’s form of governance is different from what we are used to. To successfully navigate the next four years we must adapt. The issues of tariffs, the TikTok ban and birthright citizenship, provide key insights into how Trump operates and how we must in turn adjust our expectations and understanding of politics under this administration.

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Takeaways from India's Prime Minister Modi's Recent Visit to President Trump in D.C.

On Feb, 13, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to the White House in Washington D.C. for a working visit to meet President Donald Trump. Narendra Modi served as the Prime Minister of India during Donald Trump's first term, fostering a well-established relationship between the two leaders. At face value, both leaders are generally full of praises of each other and the media has even dubbed their friendship as a “bromance.”

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The Silent Sway of Christian Zionism is Growing Louder

While President-elect Donald Trump has never shied away from the unsubstantiated, his statements on Israel are perplexing even by Trump-era standards. For example, Trump has repeated in various ways that “our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of [his policies on Israel]…than the people of the Jewish faith,” while demanding Jewish Americans “appreciate what they have in Israel…[b]efore it is too late.”

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Trump orders massive federal workforce cuts, and agencies brace for layoffs

On Feb. 11, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order mandating federal agencies to coordinate with the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to downsize their workforce and restrict future hiring. The order requires agencies to develop plans for "large-scale reductions in force" and limits new hires to one employee for every four who depart from federal service.

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Democrats’ Working-Class Woes Aren’t Harris’; They’re Bill Clinton’s

While searching for consensus in post-election autopsies is often a futile quest, there seems to be at least one nearly universal narrative emerging out of November: Democrats lost the working class. The numbers paint a stark picture, but turning to 2024 for the origins of the problem misses the forest for the trees. Democrats’ working-class woes long predate Kamala Harris’ campaign. Democrats are living in the wake of damage self-inflicted over thirty years ago.

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